America's Postwar Transcontinental Truck Convoy

In the summer of 1919, a young Lieutenant Colonel—only four years out of West Point—named Dwight D. Eisenhower participated in the first Army transcontinental motor convoy. The expedition consisted of 81 motorized Army vehicles that crossed the United States from Washington, DC, to San Francisco. The convoy was to test the mobility of the military during wartime conditions. As an observer for the Tank Corps, Lt. Col. Eisenhower learned first-hand of the difficulties faced in traveling great distances on roads that were impassable and resulted in frequent breakdowns of the military vehicles. These early experiences influenced his later decisions concerning the building of the interstate highway system during his presidential administration. Since the trip was so meaningful to President Eisenhower's career, his Presidential Library has a wonderful collection of material pertaining to the trip.  This article is primarily a collection of material from that collection.

Departure
Trip Log: 7 July 1919

Departed Camp Meigs, 8:30 A.M. Dedicated Zero Milestone at the Ellipse, Potomac Park, 10 A.M. Departed Washington 11:15 A.M. Stopped for lunch at Rockville, Md., 12:30 P.M.  Trail mobile Kitchen broke coupling,  2:50 P.M. Fan Belt broke on White Observation Car. Militor towed Class B, with broken magneto coupling, one mile in to camp at Frederick Fair Grounds.  Fair and warm.  Road excellent. made 46 miles in  7¼ hours. Arrived Frederick, Md., 6:30 P.:M.  [At this time Tank Corps observer Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower joined the convoy.]

The Mission

The principal objectives of the expedition were to service test the special-purpose vehicles developed for use in the first World War, not all gf which were available in time for such use and to determine by actual experience the possibility and the problems involved in moving an army across the continent, assuming that railroad facilities, bridges, tunnels, etc. had been damaged or destroyed by agents of an Asiatic enemy. The expedition was assumed to be marching through enemy country and therefore had to be self-sustaining throughout, in addition to surmounting all of the obstacles interposed by mechanical difficulties, unfavorable road, bridge, topographical, and weather conditions.

  

The Route

The expedition crossed eleven states in addition to the District of Columbia, and passed through about 350 communities. The total distance traveled, Washington, DC, to San Francisco, CA  was 3,251 miles in 62 days.  The chosen route closely followed the only partially paved "Lincoln Highway".  Conceived in 1912 and formally dedicated October 31, 1913, it was the first road to cross the United States. It ran from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco. In 1925, the US Bureau of Public Roads eliminated named trails and highways, and Lincoln Highway became a drab series of numbers: US 1, US 30, US 40, US 50.

Lt. Col. Eisenhower During the Trip

The personnel consisted of 24 expeditionary officers, 15 War Department staff observation officers, and 258 enlisted men. Twenty-one men were lost through various injuries en route. In his report, Eisenhower was critical of the overall discipline of the men.

Initially hoping to travel 18 mph, there were problems with equipment, inexperienced mechanics and drivers, as well as poor roads and bridges.  The average road speed for the trip turned out to be 5.66 mph.

The route was filled with wooden bridges whose reliability could be tested only by driving a vehicle over them.

There were 230 road accidents (almost 4 per day), that is, instances of road failure and vehicles sinking in the soil, running off the road or over embankments, overturning, or other mishaps due entirely to the unfavorable and at times appalling traffic conditions that were encountered.

There were three instances involving an aggregate period of forty-two hours, which were spent in the most arduous and heroic effort in rescuing the entire convoy from impending disaster on the quicksands of the Salt Lake Desert in Utah and the Fallow Sink Region in Nevada. In these emergencies, the entire personnel, regardless of rank, engaged in rescue and salvage operations

The Rear Section of Convoy Near Salt Lake City
Usually the full moving convoy was about 2 miles long.

Crossing the Sierra Nevadas
Tractors were needed to move larger trucks up the grade.

 

Parading Through San Francisco's Civic Center
Trip Log: 6 September 1919

Departed Oakland, 8:30 a.m. Convoy crossed San Francisco Bay on two ferry boats, and. immediately paraded through the city to Lincoln Park. "The end of the Trail", where medals were presented to entire personnel by the Lincoln Highway Assn.  Convoy was formally received by Col. R.N. Noble, representing Lt. General Hunter Liggett, Commanding General, Western Department and Mayor James Rolph, Jr.  Milestone marking western terminus of Lincoln Highway dedicated [with French Maréchal  Ferdinand Foch among the welcoming committee]. Red Cross Canteen Service served lunch. Convoy parked at the Presidio. Fair and Warm. Made 8 miles in 3 hrs. 

Lt. Col. Eisenhower's full trip report can be downloaded HERE.

Sources: The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, NoeHill California Travels, Celebrating the 1919 Army Convoy on the Lincoln Highway. 

A special thanks to our friend Robin Clayton of WLRC radio in Walnut, MS, for inspiring this article.